A new Report on Government Services has revealed improvements in Queensland’s Child Protection Reform Program, with child protection orders currently below the national average.
Minister for Child Safety, Di Farmer said the most recent 2018-19 reporting period coincided with the halfway mark of the reforms.
“Compared to 2017-18, the number of investigations commenced increased by 4.9 per cent to 24,307 in 2018-19 and the number completed increased by 4.3 per cent to 23,079 in 2018-19,” Ms Farmer said.
“This is a direct reflection on the significant work being done to improve investigations through additional resources and enhanced processes.”
She said that, compared to other jurisdictions, the rates of children in Queensland’s child protection system remained low.
“As part of our 10-year program of child safety reforms, we are now doing much more to intervene early so that children can stay safely with their families,” Ms Farmer said.
“Child Safety Officers are now also working more intensively during investigations to de-escalate risks to children and help families to keep their children safe — and these reforms are working.”
She said the latest rate of children subject to care and protection orders in Queensland was 8.9 per 1,000 children at 30 June 2019 — the lowest of all jurisdictions and below the national average of 10.6.
“While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be over-represented in child protection nationally, rates of Indigenous children in care in Queensland are also far below the national average — 37 per 1,000 children compared to a national average of 54.2,” the Minister said.
